Understanding Expense Report Automation

Of all the various aspects of running your business, one of the most important – and the most ignored – is managing employee travel expenses. But when you factor in things like lost wages due to errors and fraud plus the amount of work that often goes into managing expenses, it becomes clear that a better option is to focus on using good software solutions to help with expense report automation.

What Is Automation?

Expense report automation is just what it sounds like – using software programs to streamline and automate the majority of processes and procedures related to expense management. For example, using a good online program your employee could snap a photo of a receipt while still on the road, upload it right into the system, fill out a basic expense report online, and submit it.
Then, the system will review the basic information to ensure that it fits into your parameters and if so, approve it. Your management team can then also review the claim if needed and give final approval.

Why Does It Matter?

The key reason that expense report automation matters so much is in the fact that when you have a computer system handling the processes, it becomes much more accurate. Honest human errors are far less likely and so is the chance of fraud. You input the main protocols and the system check to ensure everything runs smoothly. It also handles things like archiving, tax conversion, currency conversion, credit card account processing, and more.

This translates to improved profits since you won’t be paying unnecessary costs or expenses. Plus, you will notice improved productivity since your team has much less work to do where expense management is concerned – they can focus on making you money instead.

Simply put, expense report automation is something that deserves your attention, and is well worth investing time and money into when you consider the rewards it provides.